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Frontrunners battle for position in Kerry Senior Football Championship

Published

3 years ago

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Spa veteran Shane Lynch bravely attempts to block the kick of East Kerry forward Patrick Darcy at last weekend's Kerry SFC match at the Fitzgerald Stadium. Photo: Paudie Healy.

The new format has given us more games but so far the 2022 Kerry Senior Football Championship has offered little in terms of surprises. Seven teams have already secured safe passage through to the last eight with one round of group games still to play, and seven teams are already out.

The only pool still up in the air to any significant degree is Group 4 where South Kerry could pip Templenoe for the second qualifying spot if they beat St Brendan’s and first place Feale Rangers beat Templenoe. Rangers don’t technically need to win that fixture in Templenoe as they are guaranteed their place in the next round following two impressive wins.

Elsewhere, Groups 1, 2 and 3 have effectively been decided. Having emerged victorious in both of their games to date, Dr Crokes and Kenmare Shamrocks (Group 1), East Kerry and Dingle (Group 2), and Austin Stacks and Mid Kerry (Group 3) will contest the quarter-finals irrespective of their results in Round 3.

The only thing that’s really on the line is the No. 1 seed in each group and this factor could actually turn out to be rather important. The top team in each pool will play a runner-up from another group in the knockout phase, so nabbing the first seed could mean avoiding one of the big teams – East Kerry, for example – in the last eight.

Of course, if you’re going to win the competition you’ll probably have to beat East Kerry (or the team that beats them) at some point but it is, perhaps, wise find the less difficult route to the final if at all possible.

There could well be fireworks at the Group 1 decider between Dr Crokes and Kenmare Shamrocks at Fr Breen Park. The sides have had serious battles in recent seasons, perhaps most notably in the 2021 Club Championship when 15 points from the boot of Seánie Shea consigned Crokes to the relegation playoff. That game ended in controversial fashion as Crokes felt aggrieved with the award of the match-winning free.

The Killarney club managed to stay up in the end but they will no doubt be keen to bite back. Another positive result for Kenmare in this fixture will firmly establish them as Crokes’ bogey team.

East Kerry are still very much the frontrunners but they will be tested by fellow group leaders Dingle back in Páirc an Ághasaigh. David Clifford made a cameo against Spa last weekend; could East Kerry manager Jerry O’Sullivan hand the Kerry star his first start of the championship on Sunday?

Meanwhile, reigning champions Austin Stacks travel to Beaufort to take on 2020 runners-up Mid Kerry. Sadly for the Tralee outfit their bad luck with injuries continues to haunt them. After losing Joe O’Connor the week before, there are now concerns over Brendan O’Sullivan who was forced off early on in their victory over West Kerry.

Fixtures

Saturday
5.30pm - Kenmare Shamrocks v Dr Crokes (Fr Breen Park)
5.30pm - Spa v Kerins O’Rahillys (Tullig)
5.30pm - West Kerry v Na Gaeil (Gallarus)

Sunday
2.30pm - Shannon Rangers v St Kieran’s (Ballylongford)
2.30pm - Dingle v East Kerry (Páirc an Ághasaigh)
2.30pm - Mid Kerry v Austin Stacks (Beaufort)
2.30pm - Templenoe v Feale Rangers (Templenoe)
2.30pm - South Kerry v St Brendan’s (Cahersiveen)

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Home cup tie for St Paul’s could be epic

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4 weeks ago

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7 November 2025

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Paudie O’Connor National Cup (Round 1)

Utility Trust St Paul’s v GCU Brunell

Saturday 7.30pm

Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre

The St Paul’s women’s team will be hoping to get their National Cup adventure off the ground on Saturday when they welcome 2024 champions Brunell to Killarney. Tip-off in the Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre is at 7.30pm.

Paul’s have displayed some fine early season form, although their unbeaten start in the Super League came to an abrupt end last weekend when they lost to the Trinity Meteors in Dublin. James Fleming’s side weren’t at their best on the day but they were well in contention heading into the final quarter with the scores at 47-45 in favour of the hosts. The Meteors pushed on in the fourth, however, eventually running out 63-53 winners.

St Paul’s scorers on the night were Maisie Burnham (13), Tara Cousins (12), Lorraine Scanlon (12), Lovisa Hevinder (9), Denise Dunlea (5) and Leah McMahon (2).

The Killarney club are now joint second in the table alongside the Meteors with both teams holding a 4-1 record. Killester are top having won each of their first five games.

Paul’s opponents on Saturday, Brunell, have won three out of five league matches so far.

LAKERS

The Utility Trust St Paul’s Lakers have now won three of their last four games in Division 1 of the Men’s National League following an impressive home victory over Moycullen in Killarney.

Eoin Carroll and Jack O’Sullivan made significant contributions of the Boys in Black; Carroll hit 17 points and collected 13 rebounds while O’Sullivan had 14 points, 12 rebounds and some spectacular blocks.

Steve Kelly posted 30 points and the durable Sam Grant played every second, adding 21 points along the way.

The Lakers started well before the visitors found their footing and the sides went in level at the half-time break after scores by home captain Carroll. There was still nothing to separate the teams entering the fourth quarter (68-65) but buckets by Carroll, Pablo Murcia and Grant opened up a nine-point lead. Moycullen fought back admirably, however, cutting the deficit to just four, but Luke O’Hea’s charges held firm to prevail by eight (88-80).

Next up is a cup tie against the Tipperary Talons, a side they defeated by 30 points just a couple of weeks ago. The cup can be very different to the league, though, and they will need another solid performance to advance to the next round. Tip-off in in Killenaule is at 6.30pm on Saturday.

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Chances of Kerry v Cork Munster final in 2026 decrease as Munster GAA delay seeding plan

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4 weeks ago

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7 November 2025

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After facing a backlash from Limerick, Clare, Waterford and Tipperary players, Munster GAA have postponed their plan to keep Cork and Kerry separate in the 2026 Munster Football Championship.

The new seeding system – which gives the two highest ranked Munster teams in the National League byes to separate semi-finals – will now come into play in 2027, twelve months later than initially planned.

This will give Clare and Limerick a chance to earn promotion to Division 2 of the league, potentially overtaking Cork if the Rebels were to get relegated to Division 3.

Despite traditionally being the two main contenders for Munster football honours, Kerry and Cork haven’t met in a provincial decider since 2021. The Kingdom have won each of the finals since then (one versus Limerick and three versus Clare) by an average margin of 15.75 points.

More high-profile Kerry v Cork finals might be desirable for fans of those teams, businesses in Killarney and Cork, and neutrals alike but Munster GAA’s plans to effectively keep the great rivals on opposite sides of the draw understandably drew criticism from the other participating counties. A statement by the GPA confirmed that players from Limerick, Clare, Waterford and Tipp had met via Zoom to discuss the matter. They were said to be “deeply disappointed and concerned” by the decision.

The 12-month delay will at least give two of those disaffected teams an opportunity to benefit from the new seeding process.

The draw for the 2026 Munster Football Championship will take place on November 27 under the old rules. As 2025 finalists, Kerry and Clare will get byes to the last four (but they will not necessarily be kept apart).

Nine members of Kerry’s squad are up for All-Stars at tonight’s awards ceremony in Dublin with Joe O’Connor and David Clifford also in contention for the prestigious Footballer of the Year award.

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